


Reunion

by Miniac



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Fluff, Gaang (Avatar), Gay Zuko (Avatar), Idiots in Love, M/M, Zuko (Avatar) Has Issues, Zuko (Avatar) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29016627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miniac/pseuds/Miniac
Summary: This is my first ever posted fanfic!! It might not be that good but I wanted to share because Zukka lives in my head rent free, and I'm like- why not. It's kind of a mix between canon and modern universe? Like they have phones but Appa exists. It's a little confusing, so I'm sorry about that, but I hope it's enjoyable nonetheless. I just wanted to write some Zukka for fun. I also don't know how long each chapter will be, and it may be inconsistent. Thanks for understanding <3
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 5





	1. The Call

**Author's Note:**

> Fire Lord Zuko gets a call from Katara, inviting him to visit for the first time in three years. He accepts, excited to see his friends for the first time in forever. This chapter is basically just an introduction :)

Zuko  
I hear my phone ring as I’m in the middle of my shower.

  
The warm water of my shower is so enjoyable, I consider ignoring the phone call, but being the Fire Lord means you can’t miss things like that in worry of lacking important information. I sigh and shut my eyes, letting every cell in my body savor the hot droplets running down my skin for the last few seconds and quickly pivot to face the faucet, twisting my wrist to turn the knob off. The water quickly shuts off and I immediately miss it. The steam in the large, darkly lit bathroom is overwhelming, but I know that it’ll provide extra heat. As I open the shower door and quickly cover my body with a soft, warm towel, I run into my room, the phone continuing to ring. I slide against the wooden floor with ease, the water leftover on my feet making the journey much slippier than I expected. My arm reaches onto my bed where my small phone vibrates against the sheets. I press the green circular ‘accept’ button and put the phone up to my ear.

  
“Hello?” I question the unknown number, trying to control my breath.

  
“Hi Zuko!” I flinch, shocked by the surprisingly energetic yet familiar voice coming from the phone. Usually my phone calls are taken up by voices filled with boredom and aloofness- typically Fire Nation workers- but this young voice was very unexpected. Being addressed by my name without the formal title was also unusual.

  
“I’m so sorry, but who is this?” I ask.

  
“It’s Katara! I know we haven’t talked in… it’s been like, three years now… but we miss you! Sokka, Toph, Aang and I live together now, and last night we had a really, unnecessarily deep conversation about old friends and we thought of you.” I watch the lanterns flicker orange light all around my room as I listen to Katara speak. “I know you’re probably really busy with being the leader of an entire nation and all, but we wanted to at least ask if you’d like to come visit us.” I consider her words at the pause of her voice. They want me to come visit? After three years? I haven’t seen the gang in such a long time, I can’t even imagine how much they’ve changed. And she’s right- I am really busy as Fire Lord, but there is a way for me to catch a break. Now that Azula and I are good terms- after such a long time of arguments and the worst tension I’ve ever experienced with anyone- I told her I’d let her lead if need be; the cause of the tension was me becoming Fire Lord rather than her, so we negotiated. I’m sure she’d enjoy a bit of leadership.

  
“I mean… that’d be great, Katara. Thank you for inviting me.”

  
“Of course! We’d love to see you again!” Her voice is high and cheerful. It makes me feel nostalgic of the times we all spent together on the back of Appa, admiring the clouds from high in the sky. “If you are up for it, we can swing by your palace and pick you up tonight.”

  
I tuck the loose corner of the towel that had begun to unravel at my waist and lean my elbows against the stiff mattress in front of me. “That sounds good. Thanks again. I’m excited to see you guys.” What’s the harm in saying no?

  
I walk back into my closet, gently grabbing my casual Fire Nation outfit from the foremost drawer. The soft robes are ironed nightly- something I don’t show enough appreciation for. The trousers and shirt are dark red and the outer vest is a dark yellow, almost gold. My boots lie on the floor at the edge of my bed. They’re pointed and mid-calf high, but are simple enough.

  
I lay the stack of clothes and my pair of boots on my bed and unwrap the towel from around my waist. I dry myself off as quickly as I can, rubbing a towel through my damp hair that has almost fully dried since the phone call. I place the towel in my wooden hamper and begin to clothe myself. I make sure to pick up the hamper on my way out to give to a royal guard for washing.

  
As I open the door, I breathe in the scent of roasted duck and smoked sea slug coming from the general area of the kitchen. The royal chefs do such a wonderful job of cooking- I feel bad that I won’t be able to join them for dinner. At least Azula will.

  
I walk down the dark corridor leading to one of the kindest guards I know- 19 year old Nuzoh. I knock quietly on her bedroom door with my right hand, my left hand occupied by holding the hamper snug to my left hip. Her door opens slightly, her posture straight and ready for any tasks I have at hand. I hate that they always expect me to throw chores at them like they’re mere dogs, although I’m sure they only do that because they know how my father led the Fire Nation. Nuzoh’s black hair is tied into a tight low ponytail, barely visible behind her neck, and there are a few stray hairs framing her face, obviously from being busy.

  
“Oh! Hello, Fire Lord Zuko.” She bows her head and she opens the door wide enough for me to enter. Her room is almost the same as mine- a large bed centered in the very center of the room with dark red rugs surrounding it. Her room is more lit up though, as she has a window open, letting rays of sunlight encompass the area.

  
“Forgive me, sir, let me just close that window-” she says after seeing my gaze fall absentmindedly on the open window, but I lightly grab her shoulder to refrain her from doing so.

  
“You don’t need to apologize. Leave the window open. I’m jealous of it. My bedroom only has lanterns, which don’t emit hardly any light,” I laugh and place the hamper in front of my feet. “Also, could you please let the chefs know that I will not be attending dinner tonight, and could you wash what’s in this hamper? I appreciate you so much, Nuzoh. My sister will be in charge for a while after tonight, but tell her I told you that you’re allowed a break for the weekend, okay?”

  
Her smile is weak and thin, but it’s there. “Of course, sir. Thank you.” She grabs the hamper and walks inside, shutting the door behind her. I continue down the hallway until I reach Azula’s room. I sigh, knocking on her large door.

  
“Come in,” her raspy voice calls from inside, and I turn the brass handle and enter the bedroom. She’s facing the huge mirror that’s attached to the wall on the left, fastening some buttons in her outfit. She’s wearing her Fire Lord attire?

  
“What are you wearing?” I question, eyeing her.

  
“I thought I’d try it on, brother.” She smiles at herself in the mirror, and I see my gawking face looking back at her. “It’s been a while, but it still compliments my figure perfectly!” She turns quickly to face me, a coy look plastered on her face.

  
“Did you hear my phone call or something?”

“Hm? What phone call?” She cocks her head.

  
“I- nevermind. My friend asked me to visit, so you’ll be in charge for a while-”

  
“Oh, how wonderful! Putting my lovely dress into use!” She says, interrupting me. I nod and walk out of the room. Katara and the gang should be here soon, and I’ll know for sure when I hear Appa outside.

  
I check myself in the mirror before I go outside- my dark hair is now dry and my golden eyes appear as if they’re glowing in the lighting. With a frown, I run my fingertips across the rough skin of my left eye. Although I’ve had this scar for almost seven years now, it still breaks my heart to look at it; it is still one of my biggest insecurities.

  
Shut up. Don’t be insecure. Don’t be a fool. It’s not a big deal. I slam my hand down by my side and ball my fist with a huff. My expression changes from pathetic to stern in an instant, and I turn to the front door.


	2. First time in three years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and the gang see each other for the first time in three years when they come by Zuko's palace on Appa's back to pick him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short chapter, I'm so sorry. They're all so short... smh

_Shut up. Don't be insecure. Don't be a fool. It's not a big deal. I slam my hand down by my side and ball my fist with a huff. My expression changes from pathetic to stern in an instant, and I turn to the front door._

* * *

I'm sitting on the steps of the front entrance of the palace, picking at the skin on my fingernails, when I hear a low grumble come from above. Standing, I look up and see-

"Appa!" The large animal's name bursts from my mouth with excitement. I haven't seen him in so long.

Katara and Aang hop off his back once they land and run over to see me while Sokka helps Toph along the way.

"Zuko!" Katara reaches out to me. She hasn't changed much- her hair is still visibly soft as it was three years ago, and dark brown, her eyes are bright blue compared to her darker skin tone. I remember her and Sokka making fun of my golden eyes and how much prettier theirs were than mine. She's wearing a blue blouse and darker blue leggings with furry boots- water tribe casual, just like I remember. 

"Hi, Katara." I smile at her and wrap my arms around her in a hug.

Aang comes up next, with hair grown out, but still short. He's much taller and he physically looks stronger than I remember, but his smile is just as big. "So good to see you!" he exclaims. I give him a brief hug as well.

Toph comes up behind him and wraps her small arms around my waist. Her black hair is long and down to her hips. She's taller, but still shorter than me. I'll have to tease her about it later. As she backs away from the hug, she blasts a punch into my ribs and I double back in pain, grunting.

"God, what the hell was that for?" I cry.

"It's my formal greeting, Fire Lord."

I sigh and shake my head. She steps aside and as I see Sokka step forward, I realize he looks noticeably different. He's eighteen now, and his facial features are still younger looking, but his body has gained a lot of muscle. He's a lot taller now too- not taller than me, but still. His arms used to be thin and boney, but it definitely looks like he's worked out to get more muscle. His cheekbones are high and his jawline is sharp, and his eyes are bright and lively- the same exact shade of blue as his sister's, standing out against his skin tone as well. His eyebrows are raised with joy. Usually his hair was always up in a warrior's wolf knot, but today it's down and framing his face, two small strands falling over his forehead and almost over his eyes. I look away, feeling a wave of heart crawl up my neck and face.

"Heyyyyy, Zuko!" He pulls me into a huge hug, squeezing me into him, my chin pushed up against his shoulder. Aang laughs from behind Sokka after seeing me grimace with exaggerated pain. "It's good to see you, man! 'S been forever!" He pulls away, hands on my shoulders, looking me over with a grin on his face, and then pulls me back into another hug. 

"Let him breathe, Sokka!" Katara giggles, nudging Aang who looks up and laughs again as well. 

"Fine, fine, I'm just excited. My bad." He backs away from me, hands in the air with mocked innocence. I've missed them so much; I've missed Katara's bright smile, Toph's humor, Aang's kindness, and Sokka's mannerisms.

"It's really good to see you guys, too." 

* * *

We're all sitting on Appa's back, enjoying the view below us, when I realize I don't even know where we're going.

"So... where do you guys live exactly?"

Aang looks at me from behind his shoulder. "Remember way back when you stopped that explosive assassin from blowing us up?"

I cringe, but nod, urging him to continue.

"Well, we fixed up that Western Air Temple and made some rooms for each of us. Toph and Sokka work at your uncle's tea shop which isn't too far of a walk from where we stay, so it's practically perfect."

The Jasmine Dragon... I almost forgot about that. Iroh's been the owner of that place since I was sixteen years old, and I guess it's still going strong. "That's great to hear; I'l have to visit."

"For sure! And on the way to pick you up, we decided we wanted to make a huge Fire Nation themed meal for you, in honor of seeing you for the first time after such a while!" Aang smiles back at me.

"Wait- really? You don't have to do that-" 

"Nope! No negotiating! I already bought the stuff at the market yesterday, so..." Sokka cuts me off. "I've become a good chef since I last saw you, I'll have you know." 

"Really." That's shocking. The thought of Sokka in the kitchen just brings up the vision of flames and smoke...

"I know what you're thinking: 'Sokka? Good at cooking? No way.' But you're wrong! Ask Aang- I make a killer grilled cheese," he says, lips in a thin smile, beaming. "I've also made some kind of traditional Earth Kingdom soup that Toph practically forced me to make once she realized I was such a saint at cooking-"

Aang cuts him off with a fake smile. "I told him his grilled cheese tasted okay, and that if he wanted to make some real food, he could try an old recipe my ancestors used to make. He's not a saint, Zuko." He whispers the last part at me, and as I glance towards Sokka, he's smiling at me.

"What?" I ask him. 

He looks down with a grin on his face. His face looks soft- there's no other way to put it. He has slight freckles that dance across his cheeks, as well as onto his nose which swoops into a perfect upturned curve. He looks back up at me and his shoulders shake with light laughter.

"Nothing. I'm just glad you're back."

It takes a lot of work to hide my smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry it was so short, but yayay first Zuko/Sokka interaction! Hope you enjoyed!!!


	3. Self Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Sokka cooks, the rest of the gang chill by the fire. Zuko gets distracted and recollects some memories and things he realized about himself a few years ago, including evil Ozai (sorry, it's bound to be included) and Zuko's sexuality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why but the same message always pops up at the end of the chapter in the notes and I don't know how to fix it, so I'm sorry HAHA, but anotha short chapter! Enjoy

_It takes a lot of work to hide my smile._

* * *

Looking down onto the stone platforms, I don't even realize it's the Western Air Temple where we met up years ago. It's completely renovated and no sign of damage from the assassin is evident. The gray cobblestone is now smooth and although there's nobody here, you can tell it's a really happy atmosphere. New plants and trees have obviously been planted at any free spot of soil, providing the area with priceless shade and greenery. It's been a really long time since I've seen this much green, considering the palace in which I live has absolutely no plants- not even fake ones. It's so rejuvenating to see the happiness plants give to a place. 

As Appa begins to lower to the ground, I notice larger stone walls forming rooms, almost like jail cells, and I assume they're everybody's bedrooms. There are lanterns attached to the outside walls right next to each door, providing a small amount of light under the shade. Finally, Appa lands in the biggest platform in the entire area, not stone but rather covered in soft grass and dirt- optimal for a large animal's landing. Aang gets off first and holds out his hand to Katara, letting her drop to the ground before grabbing Toph's outstretched hand and lifting her off the fuzzy back and down to the ground. I continue to sit, allowing Sokka to get off next. When he does, I finally get off as well.

"Well, welcome to our place! I'm assuming it looks super different from the last time you were here," Aang gestures to the whole area. 

"Yeah... how- how did you even do all this?" I ask, staring awestruck at the wonderful architecture surrounding us. 

"Bending is definitely helpful, so we tried doing must of it using that. And since Sokka couldn't help in that field- sorry, Sokka- he did most of the stone working and carving. He was insanely helpful. Other than that, we brought Suki and a lot of her friends to help as well."

Sokka is beaming again, and he's looking around at his work. So that's where the muscles came from...

"Yeah! So anyway, Sokka will get started on dinner, okay? We can chill by the fire until he's finished." Sokka nods in agreement. 

"Call for us if you need any help, _or if you burn down the entire kitchen,"_ Toph teases. 

Sokka rolls his eyes and backs away into the kitchen, which is a room made of the same stone walls as the bedrooms, just much larger and with a higher ceiling. Aang leads Katara, Toph, and I towards the back of the trees, where I notice smoke staring to billow. I smell the burning logs and see the familiar flames of orange and yellow beginning to burst from the firepit. 

"Sorry the flame isn't that big. It's kind of been going all day."

I hover beside one of the wooden benches where Toph is sitting. "Don't worry about it. I can just... Do you mind if I-" I stop, awkwardly waving my hands in the air.

"Oh! Right! You're obviously a fire bender. I'm sorry. Oh my god... I'm an idiot. Yes, please go ahead." Aang blurts in a stutter. He forgot that I could fire bend... it really has been a long time since I've seen them. 

As I stand up and aim my hands towards the small fire, I get a wave of nostalgia, mentally knocking me over. Last time I set off a fire like this was when I was with Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. It was the end of our beach day. Closing my eyes, I remember going into the old and abandoned palace where an old hand print of mine was set into stone and family photos were hung on the wall. At the firepit, the girls kept prodding me and asking me, 'why are you mad? Who are you mad at? Why are you mad?' Those words felt like frostbite plaguing my heart, urging the fire inside me to fight, and eventually the flame won. It felt as if the fire took control of my blood, my veins, my muscles, every part of me and exploded. I set off the fire in front of us in a furious mess and it went ten feet into the air. I scared my friends; I scared my own sister. Her eyes, typically illuminated by her own blue fire, were wide and filled with my own. Even the Agni Kai didn't scare her as much, because her power had come in waves, and in that fight it was like a tsunami. Something I never told anyone about that night was why I blew up, and that reason was seeing my father with his hand on my shoulder in the photo, pretending like he was such a wonderful person. God, I tried so hard to be calm with him. I tried to be the perfect son.

_Oh no, poor Zuko with his daddy issues._

_Oh no, poor Zuko cried every night because he felt no acceptance from his father._

_Oh no, poor Zuko was burned and scarred and exiled from his own home because of his dad._

I don't think those sound like good reasons to continue being the "perfect son". 

I never really had anything to be happy about during my childhood. I mean, except when I spent time with my first girlfriend, Mai, but even then I was questioning if I really loved her, if I really wanted her to continue being my girlfriend, if I even _liked_ girls in that way. I think I was somewhat forced into liking her romantically, but as I look back, I mostly saw her as a friend. My father, on the other hand, saw her as a perfect opportunity for me to marry her and make beautiful fire nation children with her, as she was a beautiful fire nation woman herself. I, being frankly afraid of my father, went along with it. I saw being exiled as a way to be more of myself in a way to be positive, and I broke things off with her, even after she said she could agree on continuing dating me even if I'm not around the fire nation anymore. When I was traveling the world alone, fueled by anger and annoyance, I learned some things about myself.

One, I really loved being alone for once. Being able to make my own decisions in the real world was honestly a new and great experience for me. 

Two, I was unconditionally sad. Although that's probably obvious.

And three, I learned some things about my sexuality, which was something I was taught to never question. In fact, it was absolutely forbidden to be in a sexual or romantic relationship with the same sex, which is why my father hated Mai after he found out she liked women. Anyway, around the world there are a lot of people. _A lot._ And along with all those people are teenage boys, whom I found it hard not to find attractive. On an extra note, I found that I tend to stare at people a lot when I find them attractive.

Long story short, throughout all my staring, I now know with confidence that I am into men. The funny thing is, I wouldn't have known without my father kicking me out. So in a way, I thank him. 

As I recover from my memory, I see Aang standing uncomfortably close to me, waving his hand in my face, eyes peering into mine with an intense and confused stare. "Zuko... Zuko? Are you gonna light the fire?"

I flinch, suddenly aware of Toph and Katara staring at me as well, looking disturbed.

"Oh... right, sorry." I allow a small wave of fire to escape my palm and light the pieces of wood in the firepit. They erupt in bright orange light. I back away and sit on the bench beside Toph, my face hot with a mixture of the flames and also embarrassment.

"Alright, well anyway, let's catch up."

And we do. We talk for almost two hours as we waited for Sokka to cook the meal. It felt so good, and refreshing, to finally talk with my best friends again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might take a small break to write a bit! Thanks for reading and givin' me 4 kudos, that's swag

**Author's Note:**

> You'll be meeting the rest of the gang in the next chapter! Sorry it's short. I warned you, LOL. Next chapter will most likely be short as well, and I have no idea when it'll come out. But we'll see. Hope you enjoyed :D


End file.
